New Century Version NCV
English Standard Version ESV
1 God, I praise you. Do not be silent.
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Be not silent, O God of my praise!
2 Wicked people and liars have spoken against me; they have told lies about me.
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For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me, speaking against me with lying tongues.
3 They have said hateful things about me and attack me for no reason.
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They encircle me with words of hate, and attack me without cause.
4 They attacked me, even though I loved them and prayed for them.
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In return for my love they accuse me, but I give myself to prayer.
5 I was good to them, but they repay me with evil. I loved them, but they hate me in return.
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So they reward me evil for good, and hatred for my love.
6 They say about me, "Have an evil person work against him, and let an accuser stand against him.
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Appoint a wicked man against him; let an accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty, and let even his prayers show his guilt.
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When he is tried, let him come forth guilty; let his prayer be counted as sin!
8 Let his life be cut short, and let another man replace him as leader.
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May his days be few; may another take his office!
9 Let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
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May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow!
10 Make his children wander around, begging for food. Let them be forced out of the ruins in which they live.
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May his children wander about and beg, seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
11 Let the people to whom he owes money take everything he owns, and let strangers steal everything he has worked for.
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May the creditor seize all that he has; may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
12 Let no one show him love or have mercy on his orphaned children.
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Let there be none to extend kindness to him, nor any to pity his fatherless children!
13 Let all his descendants die and be forgotten by those who live after him.
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May his posterity be cut off; may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
14 Lord, remember how wicked his ancestors were, and don't let the sins of his mother be wiped out.
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May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
15 Lord, always remember their sins. Then make people forget about them completely.
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Let them be before the Lord continually, that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!
16 "He did not remember to be loving. He hurt the poor, the needy, and those who were sad until they were nearly dead.
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For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
17 He loved to put curses on others, so let those same curses fall on him. He did not like to bless others, so do not let good things happen to him.
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He loved to curse; let curses come upon him! He did not delight in blessing; may it be far from him!
18 He cursed others as often as he wore clothes. Cursing others filled his body and his life, like drinking water and using olive oil.
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He clothed himself with cursing as his coat; may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones!
19 So let curses cover him like clothes and wrap around him like a belt."
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May it be like a garment that he wraps around him, like a belt that he puts on every day!
20 May the Lord do these things to those who accuse me, to those who speak evil against me.
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May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord, of those who speak evil against my life!
21 But you, Lord God, be kind to me so others will know you are good. Because your love is good, save me.
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But you, O God my Lord, deal on my behalf for your name’s sake; because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
22 I am poor and helpless and very sad.
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For I am poor and needy, and my heart is stricken within me.
23 I am dying like an evening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
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I am gone like a shadow at evening; I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from hunger, and I have grown thin.
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My knees are weak through fasting; my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
25 My enemies insult me; they look at me and shake their heads.
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I am an object of scorn to my accusers; when they see me, they wag their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me; because you are loving, save me.
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Help me, O Lord my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Then they will know that your power has done this; they will know that you have done it, Lord.
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Let them know that this is your hand; you, O Lord, have done it!
28 They may curse me, but you bless me. They may attack me, but they will be disgraced. Then I, your servant, will be glad.
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Let them curse, but you will bless! They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
29 Let those who accuse me be disgraced and covered with shame like a coat.
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May my accusers be clothed with dishonor; may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!
30 I will thank the Lord very much; I will praise him in front of many people.
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With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord; I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31 He defends the helpless and saves them from those who accuse them. A psalm of David.
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For he stands at the right hand of the needy one, to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.